Downright Bizarre: Seaman – Tickle it to make it giggle!

Star Trek’s Leonard Nimoy lends his voice to the domesticated but snarky enigmatic freshwater species “Seaman,” a carp-like fish with a human face. As the player, you must interact with the smart-aleck character throughout its metamorphosis. It is amazing that the virtual pet is so insulting and rude, given that it directly depends on you to survive.Using the controller, you’ll control Seaman’s habitat within the laboratory by altering the temperature settings, cleaning the tank, operating the sprinkler system and other forms of care. You can even tickle your Seaman to make him giggle!

The real charm, and what makes the game so eerily creepy, is that you must communicate via voice directly with the Seaman by speaking into the Dreamcast’s official microphone. Through this interaction, you’ll soon discover that not only are you studying the Seaman, but that the Seaman is also studying the player. He’ll even psychoanalyze you, “Tell me, do you like yourself?”

Michael Thomasson is one of the most widely respected videogame historians in the field today. He currently teaches college level videogame history, design, and graphics courses. For television, Michael conducted research for MTV's videogame related program Video MODS. In print, he authored Downright Bizarre Games, and has contributed to nearly a dozen gaming texts. Michael’s historical columns have been distributed in newspapers and magazines worldwide. He has written business plans for several vendors and managed a dozen game-related retail stores spanning three decades. Michael consults for multiple video game and computer museums and has worked on nearly a hundred game titles on Atari, Coleco, Sega and other console platforms. In 2014, The Guinness Book of World Records declared that Thomasson had “The Largest Videogame Collection” in the world. His businesses sponsor gaming tradeshows and expos across the US and Canada. Visit www.GoodDealGames.com.